Letters to the editor

Editor:
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has designated September as Juror Appreciation Month.
The Lincoln County Circuit Court Judges, Clerk of Circuit Court and court staff would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to past, present and future jurors. Your contributions are greatly appreciated by the court. Jury service has been a vital aspect of our government for over 200 years. Jury duty, along with voting, is one of the primary means by which citizens participate in the work of our government. We value your time and commitment to our justice system.
In 2016, a total of approximately 1,500 jurors were summoned for jury duty in Lincoln County. In 2017, to day, approximately 1,125 jurors have been summoned to serve.
We would also like to thank the many private companies, government agencies, small businesses, school districts and all those who encourage and support their employees when they are called to jury service. In honoring the excellent service and commitment of citizens who perform jury duty, we hope to reinforce public confidence in the jury system, improve communication with jurors and employers and disseminate an important and positive message about jury service.
Your local courts depend on your service. Thank you for your service.
With sincere gratitude,
Jay R. Tlusty
Lincoln County Circuit Court, Presidint Judge
Robert R. Russell
Lincoln County Circuit Court, Branch II
Marie Peterson
Lincoln County Clerk of Circuit Court

Editor:
Americans, as well as others worldwide, are saddened and horrified by the effects of Tropical Storm Harvey on the people of Texas and Louisiana. There is unprecedented property destruction, and major disruption of lives. Recovery will take many years.
Changes of climate are becoming more evident. We frequently see folks on TV saying, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Dangerous weather events will probably increase with time. It is predicted that dry spells, wildfires, heat waves, tornadoes, intense rainfalls, flooding and de-stabilized climate will continue. This is due to the high level of greenhouse gas (heat-trapping gas), which remains in our atmosphere.
At my age of 88, I won’t see the worst of what will come, but my grandchildren, great grandchildren and their descendants will. It is impossible to not worry about them.
I think it is absolutely required of us to do all we can. Somehow we must arouse Congress to action. Congress must set aside less important matters and focus on preventing destructive climate events from becoming much worse. We owe this to those who will come after us.
With hope,
James A. Lewis
Village of Maine

Editor,
Sandra Bullock, an American actress, has announced she is donating $1 million to the Hurricane Harvey relief fund. That is a great example being set for her peers and fellow millionaires. If other millionaires would follow her lead it would help the cause immensely. That group would include professional athletes, CEO’s of major companies, investors such as the Koch Brothers and of course President Donald Trump, including his entire family. Mr. Trump started his financial career with a loan from his father of $1 million. Mr. Trump classified this loan as small. Surely, Mr. Trump could afford a small donation of $1 million or more because he has repeatedly stated that he owns property and companies here, there and everywhere. Isn’t it time for Donald Trump to put his money where his mouth is and help the American people? Or is it all show and no go?
Patrick Hommerding
Merrill

To the Editor:
A few weeks ago, a white nationalist rally was held in Charlottesville, Virginia. A 22-year-old while man deliberately drove his car into a group of counter-protestors, killing a woman and injuring nearly 20 others. President Trump condemned “both sides,” but he was called out by lots of people across the political spectrum, including Republicans.
What indicates the larger, long-term significance here is the removal of monuments honoring the confederacy. These removals indicate a sea change in American mentality and the political power of that sea change. Despite the Rush Limbaugh cultivation of white fear, we’re on the cusp of a completely new racial configuration in this country. It’s been a long time coming.
Donald Trump, for all his blundering self-admiration, represents in his very person the covert “dog whistles” utilized for decades by the Republican party. Trump is a Rush Limbaugh talk radio kennel-bred pit bull who was conjured into the presidency by the saturating magic of broadcast sorcery with the evil intention of maintaining white supremacy. But now even Republicans are finding it hard to face that dog’s reflection in the mirror.
I believe there always were prominent Republicans who were cynically embarrassed by such vitriol. They knew that this sorcery of resentment was deliberately cultivated to captivate a dependable electoral cheering squad. Republicans really must begin to redeem themselves from this sordid behavior (including Wisconsin’s astonishingly brazen gerrymandering) by confessing their long-standing cultivation of fear and hate.
Paul Gilk
Merrill